Smallville Babies
by Crazy Danae
Summary: This was a challenge posed by some friends. LuthorCorp has been in Smallville for a long time. Is it really possible for our fave characters to have never met before? Chapter 2 up!
1. Prologue

_**A/N:** This was a challenge posed by some friends at Allison Mack Online. I thought there was going to be a contest on that site, but it turned out that there wasn't. Ah, well. Their loss is your gain, right?_

_**Disclaimer:** As much as I would have love to, I own nothing of Smallville. This fiction, as with all my fan fics, are a celebration of my love of Smallville. If the PTB want to sue those that love their property, I guess that's their choice…_

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Prologue

"Yes, sir. I understand, Mr. Luthor. Thank you for the opportunity." Gabe Sullivan felt like he was babbling to the most important man for his business career. "The Smallville venture sounds like an amazing opportunity to learn and I'm so grate… Yes, sir. I understand that you're a busy man. Y-yes, sir. I will meet you at the Ross Factor at 8am this Thursday. And th…" He pulled the phone away from his ear to stare at it unseeingly. Thankfully, he'd had just enough experience at LuthorCorp to know that Lionel Luthor had just ended their conversation like he would with anyone else that was rambling. He hung the phone up with a trembling hand.

"Dada, dada!" came a beloved, yet insistent voice. He turned toward it in time to see his two year old daughter toddling toward him.

With a crow of excitement, he swept her up in his arms and around to her squealing delight. "There's my brilliant reporter!" he chuckled when he tapped her nose with his finger. He looked around and could suddenly feel the wrongness of the apartment. "Where's Mommy, Chloe-bear?"

Chloe pulled a face and pointed toward the master bedroom. "Mama feel baaad," she said sadly.

Gabe's heart took a dive as his feet dragged them into the offending room. Clara was lying in the bed, just staring up at the ceiling. If he hadn't seen this on a more increasing basis over the last two years ("Ever since Chloe was born," his treacherous mind reminded him.), he would have thought she'd had a stroke or something. He set Chloe on her feet and gently nudged her out of the room. "Go play, Chloe-bear. Daddy'll take care of Mommy." She bestowed upon him a shining smile and happily toddled into the living room. Carefully, he eased the door shut before he was able to turn and deal with his wife. He sat on the edge of the bed furthest from her, knowing her tendency to panic if someone came too near her when she was like that. "Clara?" he whispered. "Clara, honey?"

"They're poisoning the water," she breathed, not even bothered with looking at him. "I can see everyone dead. We all need water… How can we resist them?"

He sighed deeply. As much as he loved his little family, he definitely didn't have time for this. "No one's poisoning us," he said soothingly, reaching his hand out to pat her hand. When she threw herself against the opposite wall, he knew he'd made the wrong move.

"You're one of them," she screamed hoarsely. Gabe silently gave thanks that she was still lucid enough to remember Chloe was in the other room. "Don't touch me! I know you want to kill me…"

Gabe covered his eyes with a hand while he groaned. "Clara, honey… I wouldn't harm a hair on your head…" He would have moved closer, but she held her hand up while her face was frozen into an expression of horror. _Damn it!_ he swore to himself. _I'm not going to be able to reach her… Why does she always pick the most inconvenient times?!?_ He winced at the uncharitable thoughts he held for the woman he was legally bonded to. "I'll call Dr. Wilson. You know you always feel better when he's around…" She looked at him blankly until she slowly nodded.

He made the call quickly and, within an hour, his wife had been bundled up to take a trip to the sanitarium again. _How many times has it been this time?_ He wondered bitterly. _Twelve trips in the last six months. It's as if she isn't really in this family anymore._ He felt a tug on his pants and looked down to see a somber Chloe staring up at him. He swept her up and hugged her tightly. "Looks like it's just you and me for a bit, Chloe," he told the little girl. "You know Mommy always feels better after these trips."

She nodded solemnly and replied, "Fee be'er." Then she gave his a kiss on the cheek and patted it in before wiggling to be let down.

He smiled after his daughter and sat at his desk despondently. He had to be in Smallville in 12 hours. With a sigh, he pulled their phone list toward him and started making calls. Forty-five minutes passed and no relief was in sight. He looked over at his daughter and wondered if he'd still be able to provide for her after he was going to be forced to skip this mandatory review of the Ross property. His mind blinked on and he sat up straight. _Doesn't the Ross family have children of their own? Would they…? Could it be possible…?_ His stomach clenched uncomfortably, but he knew he didn't have another option available to him.

With trembling hands, he lifted the receiver and began to dial. "Hello?" a friendly woman's voice answered.

He took a deep breath. "Hello, Mrs. Ross?"

"Yes, who is this, please?"

He closed his eyes and decided to go for it. "Mrs. Ross, you don't know me, but my name is Gabe Sullivan and I'm one of the plant managers for LuthorCorp and my wife fell ill unexpectedly and I can't leave my daughter and absolutely none of our babysitters are available for this and if I don't get to this meeting, I'll lose my job and I know this is a total imposition and you don't know me, but would you be willing to watch my daughter while I go on the inspection tour with the LuthorCorp group and your husband? I would be willing to pay you for your time and I would really really appreciate it…" He trailed off uncertainly. He was met with silence on the other line and could feel the flush of embarrassment flood into his face. He wanted to groan in mortification. What was he thinking? Calling a perfect stranger to take care of his kid? He shook his head. "Mrs. Ross, I'm very sorry. I shouldn't have called you. I was just desperate and I thought I remembered that you had children and a son about my daughter's age… I'm so sorry to have bothered you. Have a nice night…"

But before he could hang up the phone, she interrupted his apologies. "Mr. Sullivan, don't be embarrassed. I absolutely understand your predicament. But are you sure you want a stranger to take care of your child?"

He swallowed hard. "Normally, the answer would be no, but considering that my job is in jeopardy here… I just didn't know what else to do." Suddenly he realized what he was proposing and his eyes flew over to his daughter. How could he even contemplate it? She was worth losing his job over! "You're right, of course. I… I don't think I could ask you to, after all."

A gurgle of laughter flooded down the phone lines. "Listen, Gabe… You don't mind if I call you Gabe, do you?" She didn't even give him the chance to object before she continued. "This will sound crazy, but if you're willing, why don't you drive down tonight and you can meet us to make that final decision. We have a guest room, but if you feel really uncomfortable with us, there is a motel in town that I know has vacancies right now."

"D… Do you really mean it?" Gabe could feel his jaw dragging along the floor. No one could be this nice… but did he have a choice? He looked at Chloe and made up his mind. "Well, if you don't mind…"

"I don't. I know that it's late and will be even later by the time you get here, but we'll be up waiting. See you soon, Gabe."

After they disconnected, he stared in awe at the phone until he realized that the Ross family would be waiting for him. "Chloe-bear, wanna' go on an adventure?"

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_**A/N:** Well, this is a work in progress. Obviously, this chapter was just giving you a plausible reason for Chloe to be in Smallville… because I can't write a Smallville fan fic without Chloe!_


	2. Chapter 1

_**A/N:** Some of you may have thought this would just be about the babies, but I wanted a clear reason why Chloe would be in Smallville before jumping in. And for further clarification, I love the stories and TV shows where the babies are as intelligent or more-so than the adults… i.e. Rugrats and the Muppet Babies…_

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Chapter 1

Chloe woke up and lay still for a moment while she looked at highly unfamiliar surroundings. She thought about panicking until she heard the familiar voice of her father in another room. She got to her feet and looked at the play pen she'd been put to bed in. Daddy had promised her an adventure, but the trip had been so dark that she hadn't been able to see anything. She had a vague remembrance of meeting a little boy about her size, but her last jolt of Daddy's coffee had worn off by then and her eyes had felt a little blurry.

_Well, Daddy promised me an adventure… and if I don't find him soon, I'm going to miss all the fun,_ she thought matter-of-factly. Quickly she took in the construction of the play pen and smiled in satisfaction. It was of fairly standard construction and with a couple of bumps, the side went down. As fast as her chubby legs would take her, she toddled off to find her dad.

When she entered the kitchen, she crowed in triumph. "I found you, Daddy. Let's go on our adventure!" came out as "Fownd dada. Venture!" to her everlasting irritation. She couldn't understand why her words wouldn't come out like she wanted them to, but shrugged as her daddy swung her up into the air with a kiss.

"You sure are going to have an adventure, Chloe-bear!" he smiled. He pointed to a strange lady and the little boy from the night before. "You're going to stay with Mrs. Ross and her son Pete today while Daddy does some business. Then we'll go and see some cows. You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

At the news, Chloe's little face screwed up in irritation and panic. "No, dada. No bees nest. Venture!" Tears started to pour down her face and she hugged her daddy tight. She was fairly certain that he wouldn't be able to withstand her pleas, but she was unpleasantly surprised when he handed her to the strange lady. She tried to wiggle free, but she was unprepared for the determined grip that held her. After a moment, she could only gape at her father in shock. He'd never done this to her before.

"Thank you, Abigail," he said with relief. "I just don't know what I would have done…"

"No worries, Gabe. And I told you to call me Abby." The woman's voice was warm and soothing, but Chloe wasn't in the mood to be comforted.

"Dada! No, Dada. Venture!" She started struggling anew to get free.

"Chloe, stop." He said it so firmly that she stopped automatically. He hardly ever used that tone of voice with her either. She couldn't figure out what was going on. "I need you to be brave today. You're going to make a great new friend and have lots of fun. I'll want a report when I get back."

She gaped up at him and knuckled the tears away. "Port, Dada? Like Panet?"

He smiled. "That's right, honey. Just like the Daily Planet that Daddy reads every morning. So pay attention to everything and then you can write it down for me to read tomorrow morning. Okay?"

Her smile lit up the room. That was a high compliment that Daddy was paying her. He always told Mommy that the day couldn't start right if he didn't read the Planet. She nodded fervently. "Kay, Dada. Coe be good porter."

He kissed her cheek and gave her a wink. "Of course Chloe will be a good reporter. I'll see you when I get back." He smiled again at the woman holding her. "Thanks again, Abby. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't been so kind."

"It's been a pleasure to get to know you, Gabe. If you're the manager of the LuthorCorp planet, I know Smallville will be in good hands."

He smiled at that and Chloe knew he was pleased. "Love you, Chloe-bear."

Before she knew it, he was gone and the Abby person was putting her in a high chair. _How condescending!_ she thought irritably. _She automatically assumes I'm going to make a mess…_ She looked around and strangers surrounded her. Suddenly, her heart quailed in fear. She didn't know any of these people and Daddy had just left her! She burst into tears again and hid her face in her arms. The best reporters never showed their fear so she shouldn't either, but she didn't know what to do…

"Stop being a baby," a high-pitched voice drawled beside her. "You're daddy said he'd be back."

She lifted her head and stared at the owner of such a grouchy attitude. It was the boy from the night before. "I'm not a baby," she sniffed. "How would you like being left all alone?"

"You're not all alone. I'll protect you." He jerked his thumb to his chest which swelled with pride.

She giggled. "You're not any bigger than me," she snarked. "How can you protect me?"

He frowned and then shrugged. "Then we'll protect each other… Not that you'll need it, except from my brothers."

"What's a brother?" It was definitely a new word for her to learn. She wondered if Daddy knew that word.

"Don't you know anything?" He sighed. "Brother is someone that Mommy had too. I have four big brothers. Sometimes they're mean to me." He looked around to check and see if any of his brothers had caught him tattling.

"How would you like some Fruit Loops, Chloe?" said the lady named Abby. Chloe took a good look at her and the first thing she noticed was that she seemed really busy. Chloe nodded vigorously and was rewarded with a bowl of the cereal and a Toucan Sam spoon.

"Cofey, Abby? Cofey peas?"

Abby looked at her in shock. "Chloe, coffee isn't good for you."

Chloe restrained from rolling her eyes just in time. "Cofey, Abby. Dada haf cofey. Coe haf cofey. Cofey, Abby?" She tried smiling and batting her eyes. Daddy could never resist her when she did that.

Abby smiled and shook her head. "I don't know what Gabe is thinking. Coffee will stunt your growth."

"Knee cofey, Abby, to start." Chloe wondered how this woman honestly expected her to get her day going without some of Daddy's coffee. _This is a nightmare!_ she thought in horror.

Abby laughed and threw up her hands. In a sippy cup, she poured a little bit of coffee and topped it off with milk before handing it to the young Sullivan girl. At Chloe's pout, she pulled back the sippy cup. "It's either this or nothing, Miss Sullivan," she said with finality.

Chloe could hear it. She knew she wasn't going to be able to push this lady around. She sighed and held out her hands. "Kay, Abby. Tank 'oo."

"You're welcome, sweetie," she said with a smile as she got on with fixing breakfast for the rest of her boys.

"Wow," Pete said with his mouth hanging open. "I've never seen Mommy do that before. You're good."

Chloe basked in his approval and dug in to breakfast. She ate as neatly as she was able so maybe she could wheedle more of the Nectar of the Gods from Abby. She ignored the phone when she heard it ring, but kept her ears perked. You never knew when you'd find something good out… and Daddy _had_ assigned her to be Intrepid Reporter today.

"Hi there, Steve. What can I do for…?" Abby's face went from a smiling one to a concerned professional one. "But it's my day off… I know he's on my cas… His lawyer said what?" She looked at the kids around the kitchen with concern. "I could leave the older four on their own, but Pete…" Chloe glanced over and saw Pete grimaced. She decided that it must be tough being the youngest… what was that word he used?... brother. "Listen. Give me ten minutes. If I can find a sitter, we'll let it proceed. Otherwise, a motion for rescheduling will have to be d… Yes, I know you know that, but… Fine. Ten minutes."

Abby slammed the phone down with a muffled curse. Chloe looked around and could see everyone's eyes were big. Chloe smiled. _This is going to be a great story!_ she crowed silently. _Daddy's gonna' love this!_

Meanwhile, Abby was ticking off things aloud, if in shorthand. "If Jeffy takes care of the three… Could he also do… No, I need an adult. Would Nell… No, she's dealing with… But who…" She looked at Pete, who was trying to look inconspicuous and innocent. "Would she? She loves kids… but with an extra? Can't hurt to ask…" She picked up the phone and made a quick call. "Martha. Hi, it's Abby Ross. I'm fine thanks, but in a bit of a bind. You're such a doll. Would you mind watching the boys today?"

"Mom…!" Chloe could only assume it was Jeffy who was whining. "I'm twelve years old. I can watch George, Frank and Curtis. Please! You've been promising forever…!"

Chloe rolled her eyes. Didn't he know that he wasn't going to get anything out of his mommy acting like that? Abby sighed but smiled. "Okay, just Pete and an extra today? Yeah, she belongs to a nice guy who had to go to that LuthorCorp tour today. You will? Are you sure? That's fantastic! I'll call Gabe… That's his name, Gabe Sullivan… And tell him where Chloe will be in case I don't get home before he does. I owe you one. We'll be there in 20 minutes. Thanks so much!"

She just replaced the receiver briefly before picking up Gabe's card and dialing his cell phone. "Gabe, I'm so glad I caught you before the tour. An emergency's come up and I'm not going to be able to watch… No, no… You don't have to come. I've asked one of the town's most dependable women to watch yours and my youngest and she said that would be fine. Do you have a pen? Here's her address." She rattled off undecipherable information, but Chloe still listened avidly. "I should be back before you are, but if not, I wanted you to know where they are. My husband can give you directions if you need it. Thanks for being so understanding, Gabe. I'll talk to you soon."

Chloe held her breath as Abby hung up the phone and turned to the two. "Well, plans have changed. Ready for a trip?" As she was let down from her chair, Chloe was practically bursting with excitement. Another adventure? How did she get to be so lucky?

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A/N: Whew! I wasn't sure anyone liked this because I didn't get any reviews at all for the first couple of days. Huzzah! I don't have to kill the babies story!**_

_spaceboi's pixie: Oh, I'm so glad you liked it! I haven't quite finished determining where to go with it yet, but I have high hopes…_

_obsessor-of-inuyasha: I'm so glad you like it. I mean, there had to be a reason why they'd become friends so fast, right? ;D_

_markmark261: While I am absolutely capable of both cutesy and wutesy, I'm handling this a little different. I do want to note at this point that the kids will talk with an extremely limited vocab at first… and spelling errors will be rampant because I'll be spelling those phonetically, but when they talk amongst themselves, it'll all work out better grammatically. ;D_

_choedouble1028: I do understand what you're talking about in regards to the teenage angst, even though I'm well beyond that, by definition. And wouldn't it be nice if "Smallville" could do a feel-good story with a great plotline without all the arbitrary drama?_


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

As they drove up to the Kent farmhouse, Chloe was filled with anticipation. She was expecting something exciting to happen, but there was no indication on _what_ "that" would be. She loved the yellow farmhouse with every fiber of her being as soon as she saw it. Good things were going to happen there and she couldn't wait to find out what that was going to be.

When the car pulled to a stop, she would have unlocked herself if she could have just gotten to the button. Adventures were a new thing to her and her heart pounded with excitement as each new one was revealed. She just knew that her paper was going to be the best one Daddy had ever read. She grimaced for a moment. How was she supposed to get it all together for him to read by breakfast? She looked over to her side and saw Pete being helped out of the car by Abby. He seemed oddly biddable… She was startled when a head of red curls came into view directly in front of her face. She could only stare for a moment until gentle hands lifted her out of the seat and onto the ground. Chloe looked into a happy face with bright blue eyes and knew with a certainty that this was someone she could rely on.

"Hey there, Pete!" the lady smiled as Pete ran over for a hug. "How are you doing, little man?"

"Cow!" Pete said with excitement as he pointed toward the fields.

"Martha, really… I can't thank you enough! It's just that darn Frank! He thinks he can get his client off after he **_knew_** this big plant tour was today. Rat ba…!"

"Abby," Martha interrupted, "it's fine. We're going to have fun…"

Abby sighed with relief and kissed Pete. "You be good for Mrs. Kent, okay?" He smiled and nodded and held Martha's hand.

Martha led them into the farm house as Abby drove away. Pete had looked like he might have been upset about her leaving, but the prospect of cows was something that apparently overshadowed that. Chloe was just excited to get inside. She'd never been in a house like this before and she wanted to see what it would be like. Martha had a big beaming smile on her face as she walked in the door. "I have someone I'd like you both to meet," she said. Chloe could tell she was excited because she was practically bouncing up and down. "I'd like you to meet my son, Clark."

A dark head with vivid green eyes peeked around the corner. As he walked in the room, Chloe could only stare. There was something about the shy smile and the sad eyes that touched her heart in ways she'd never known before. She realized that he was staring at her too. She gave him her very best smile and ran up close to him. "Hi, me Choe… tat Pete," introducing herself and the boy who hadn't been much further behind her in meeting the newcomer with a point of her hand.

He just smiled at them with his hands securely tucked behind him as if he was afraid to touch anything. He looked up at Martha with a pleading look in his eyes and she came over to the trio. "Clark just got here, kids. He doesn't know many words yet."

"No?" Chloe asked incredulously. He shook his head shyly, but tried to grin. Suddenly, she was excited. Here was someone who _needed_ her. She'd never felt that emotion before. "I 'each 'oo!" She grabbed his hand and Pete's and started to pull them toward the door.

She was already through before she heard Martha's admonition, "Be gentle…"

Chloe didn't even pause but in the back of her mind, she wondered why Martha would be worried about her hurting Clark. It wasn't as if he wasn't a sturdy boy. She shook her head. Who could understand those incomprehensible grown-ups anyway?

When she got to the edge of the porch, she stopped so suddenly that the boys nearly plowed right into her. Her eyes were wide and she started to tremble at all the empty space around the farm. She could see dark dots in the distance, but there wasn't anything else besides lots and lots of yellow and green. _What if I get lost and Daddy can't find me?_

Pete stared at her for a moment as she refused to move any further. His eyes widened and he started giggling. He had thought she was fearless, but this made her seem more human somehow. "You're scared!" He announced it as if he'd just discovered an easy route to Santa's house.

She blushed hotly. "I am not," she protested angrily, but it didn't have any conviction behind it. She hated being teased and to have this new boy know that she was scared was unbearable. Suddenly, she could hear her mommy's voice. "I was just enjoying the view," she repeated, hoping she sounded confident.

She almost wished she had saved her breath. Pete just continued his mocking little dance. She wanted to hit him and knock him down, but Daddy had always said that was a no-no. Her heart beat painfully and she could feel her eyes prickling. She really didn't want to cry in front of these boys, but she didn't know if she could stop it. After all, she **_was_** just a little girl.

She tried to look anywhere but at that darn Pete… but it didn't help. She could still hear him. Slowly, she became aware of a slight pressure on her hand and something patting her shoulder gently. Clark was looking at her with big, worried eyes but had a soft, encouraging smile on his lips. She felt like she was floating into those sparkling green depths and knew without a shadow of a doubt that she could always rely on him. She smiled shyly back at him, which unleashed his full smile on her. She could only stare. She could tell when he started thinking because his face scrunched up for a moment before his smile returned. "Me pitect you," he said confidently as he led her down the stairs.

With such reassurance, her courage returned in full force. She grinned at him happily and noticed that he tripped a little so she had to keep him upright by holding his hand. Pete tried to keep giggling at her, but she turned such a frown in his direction that he stopped as if she had hit him. "Didn't you say there were cows around here, Pete?" she asked as nicely as she could. After all, she would be spending **_all day_** with these boys and she didn't want to fight with them the whole time. _Plus,_ a little voice whispered in her head, _you don't want to risk Clark's good opinion_. She smiled brightly at the boys and began to skip toward the barn… never letting go of Clark's hand.

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A/N: I don't have a lot to say here. Life has gone crazy and taken me with it. That means this story and others are going slowly. I hope life gets better soon…**_

_markmark261: Yeah, the first chapter was a bit too… well back-story, to be honest… I enjoy writing them as children. As the writing continues, I have to smile. I had intended this to be really short… one to three chapters… but I don't think I'll be able to stop that soon…_


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